Cuccinelli looks to women voters

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is out with his first TV ad of the gubernatorial campaign, a positive spot focusing on his efforts on women’s issues and human trafficking.

The ad features Cuccinelli’s wife, Teiro Cuccinelli, speaking directly to the camera.

Story Continued Below

“My husband, Ken, has spent his life standing up for the vulnerable and those in need,” she says in the ad. “He’s worked the night shift at a homeless shelter, spent his college days leading efforts to prevent sexual assaults and represented those suffering from mental illness. As Attorney General, Ken fought to find and prosecute child predators and human traffickers.”

The ad is an effort to soften Cuccinelli’s image among women in the state — Democrats have sought to define the GOP candidate’s positions on social issues, including abortion, as outside the “mainstream” of Virginia voters’ views.

The ad will start airing Monday. The Cuccinelli campaign would not comment on the size of the ad buy or how long it will run.

Cuccinelli’s ad is the first TV ad in the race, and the first paid advertising from either campaign. The anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List launched a radio ad campaign this week, hitting Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe for his position on new abortion clinic regulations in the state.